Camouflage Covering With Embedded Indicia

ABSTRACT

An example covering includes a camouflage pattern and embedded indicia. The indicia is of a certain size such that it is discernable at distances close to the covering but not at greater distances. The covering allows an individual using the pattern to support an organization associated with the logo without comprising the effect of the camouflage pattern.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to camouflage coverings adapted to provide expressive indicia without comprising the effectiveness of the selected pattern used for the coverings.

BACKGROUND

Camouflage clothing, apparel, and gear is worn and used in a variety of settings, including for purposes of disguising oneself while hunting and in public settings as a statement of fashion. Likewise, sports fandom is at an all-time high, with both college and professional sports clothing, apparel, and gear being purchased and worn in ever-increasing numbers. There is a cross-section of the United States population that are interested in both wearing camouflage apparel and supporting their favorite college or professional sports organizations. While sports logos and indicia have been used in conjunction with camouflage apparel in certain instances, such usage typically includes affixing a large sports logo over the camouflage pattern, thus obscuring the camouflage pattern. Accordingly, current camouflage apparel is not intended for a true outdoorsman, as the obscuring of the camouflage pattern causes the camouflage to lose its effect, thus rendering the camouflage useless for hunting purposes. Thus, a person wishing to support their favorite sports team at present must choose between wearing normal camouflage attire or risk destroying the camouflage effect when wearing fan paraphernalia.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved covering and method of manufacturing the same that allows for the embedding of indicia in camouflage apparel and accessories without destroying the effect of the overall purpose and look at a distance of the camouflage apparel.

SUMMARY

Described herein an improved covering and method of manufacturing the same that allows for the embedding of indicia in a camouflage pattern without destroying the effect of the overall purpose and look of the camouflage apparel. The covering may be any article of clothing, apparel, or apparatus designed to be worn on or attached to an individual's body. Further, the covering may be designed to cover gear (e.g., a gun case, duffle bag, etc.) where an individual desires a camouflage effect.

In exemplary implementations, the covering is designed to disguise the individual using it in outdoor activities (or the individual's gear) and comprises an indicia embedded within the camouflage pattern. The indicia embedded within the camouflage pattern is discernible to the naked human eye at short distances but not at longer distances.

In various exemplary embodiments, the indicia may be of a height less than a quarter inch and/or less than a half-inch. In alternative exemplary embodiments, the indicia may only be discernable to the naked human eye when an individual is located more than ten or 20 feet away from the body covering. In exemplary embodiments, the camouflage pattern may be MARPAT camouflage. It is understood, however, that any number of patterns intended to provide a camouflage effect may be used. In another exemplary embodiment, the indicia may comprise a trademark and/or logo of a sports organization. In another exemplary embodiment, the indicia comprises at least one color that is found within the camouflage pattern.

Other systems, methods, features and/or advantages will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and/or advantages be included within this description and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other.

FIG. 1 is a pattern with an embedded indicia in accordance with one exemplary implementation of a covering as described herein; and

FIG. 2 is a pattern with an embedded indicia in accordance with one exemplary implementation of a covering as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present disclosure. As used in the specification, and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “comprising” and variations thereof as used herein is used synonymously with the term “including” and variations thereof and are open, non-limiting terms.

According to the methods and systems described herein, an improved covering and method of manufacturing the same are provided that allows for the embedding of indicia in camouflage apparel without destroying the effect of the overall purpose and look of the camouflage apparel. The covering may be any article of clothing or apparatus designed to be worn on or attached to an individual's body. By way of example only, the covering may be a hat, shirt, overalls, jeans, jackets, scarfs, or gloves. The covering may also be gear intended to be used in a setting where a camouflage pattern is desired.

In exemplary implementations, the body covering is designed to disguise the individual for purposes of participating in an outdoor activity, such as hunting. For this reason, the majority of the covering may be covered in a camouflage pattern that blends with the surroundings. The camouflage pattern may be any camouflage pattern available. In a preferred exemplary implementation, the camouflage pattern is MARPAT camouflage, which provides a space between the various shading of green, black, gray and tan colors to include similar colored indicia.

To accomplish one of the goals of the enhanced camouflage covering described herein, an indicia pertaining to an organization or team that the individual supports is embedded within the camouflage pattern. This indicia may be provided in a color similar to one of the colors in the camouflage pattern. Moreover, the indicia may be provided in a size that at certain distances from the individual blends into the surrounding camouflage pattern, achieving an effect similar to pointillism. For example, an individual may wish to show his or her team spirit while wearing a camouflage outfit that will be used for hunting or other activity that requires effectiveness of camouflage. With conventional apparel, this would not be possible. However, a body covering according to the present invention would allow the functionality of the camouflage to be retained, while the individual expressed his or her team spirit.

An exemplary pattern 100 for use in an enhanced covering described herein is shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the pattern 100 comprises a camouflage pattern 110 with an embedded sports logo 120. The camouflage pattern 110 is one exemplary version of MARPAT. The sports logo 120 is less than a half-inch in height, making it visible to the naked eye at close distances but not at greater others. For example, at a height of one centimeter, an individual would not be able to discern the sports logo shown in FIG. 1 from the surrounding camouflage design once the person was more than twenty feet away from the covering. In other designs, the sports logo 120 may be smaller or larger, thus causing the distance at which the logo loses definition to the human eye to be less than or greater than twenty feet.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the coloration of the embedded logo is similar or the same as one of the colors used in the surrounding camouflage pattern. Also, the logo is positioned within the lighter areas of the camouflage pattern and may be at least partially behind the darker colors of the camouflage pattern. In this way, the logo becomes a part of the pattern, as opposed to being an image appended to and obscuring the overall camouflage effect. This effect may be achieved, for example, as shown in the attached Figures utilizing MARPAT camouflage, although any camouflage pattern may be used with similar effect.

Accordingly, when manufacturing an enhanced covering according to at least one exemplary implementation, the indicia should be positioned such that the indicia is “below” the top layer containing the camouflage pattern. The indicia should also be manufactured to be a color similar to one of the darker colors comprising the camouflage pattern.

Another exemplary pattern 200 for use in an enhanced covering described herein is shown in FIG. 2. The pattern 200 provided in this exemplary implementation is another exemplary version of MARPAT. The height of the logo shown in this implementation is less than a quarter-inch. At this size, an individual must be within several feet of the covering to discern the embedded logo. This is because, as previously noted, the enhanced covering takes advantage of an individual's visual sensory input that blends small, definable patterns into a larger surrounding object once a certain distance has been reached where the human eye can no longer distinguish each individual small pattern.

The enhanced covering has been described with language specific to certain exemplary implementations. It is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. By way of example, although the exemplary implementations shown in the figures are described with reference to the embedding of sports indicia, any organization indicia may be embedded within a camouflage pattern according to the above methods and constructs and consistent with the spirit and scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed:
 1. A body covering, comprising: a fabric designed to cover at least a portion of an individual's body; wherein the fabric is selected to include a camouflage pattern; and wherein the fabric has indicia embedded within the camouflage pattern such that the indicia may be distinguished from the camouflage pattern at close distances but not at longer distances.
 2. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the camouflage pattern is MARPAT camouflage.
 3. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the indicia is no greater than a quarter-inch in height.
 4. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the indicia is no greater than a quarter-inch in height.
 5. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the indicia cannot be distinguished from the camouflage at distances greater than ten feet.
 6. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the indicia cannot be distinguished from the camouflage at distances greater than twenty feet.
 7. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the indicia cannot be distinguished from the camouflage at distances greater than thirty feet.
 8. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the indicia is no greater than a half-inch in height.
 9. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the indicia comprises a logo for a collegiate sports team.
 10. The body covering of claim 1, wherein the indicia comprises a logo for a professional sports team or organization.
 11. A method of manufacturing a body covering, comprising the steps of: fabricating an article of clothing for use in outdoor activities, said article of clothing primarily having a camouflage pattern; and wherein the step of fabricating the article of clothing includes embedding an indicia within the camouflage pattern such that the indicia is discernable at certain distances but not at others.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the camouflage pattern is MARPAT camouflage.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the indicia is representative of a collegiate sports team.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the indicia is representative of a professional sports team or organization.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the indicia is less than one-half inch in height.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the indicia is less than one-quarter inch in height.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein a color of the indicia is selected to match at least one color used in the camouflage pattern.
 18. A camouflage covering, comprising: a fabric selected to include a camouflage pattern for use in outdoor activities, wherein the fabric has indicia embedded within the camouflage design such that the indicia may be distinguished from the camouflage pattern at distances not greater than twenty feet.
 19. The covering of claim 18, wherein the camouflage pattern is MARPAT camouflage.
 20. The covering of claim 18, wherein the indicia is representative of a collegiate or professional sports team or organization. 